Cork Racecourse© Photo Healy Racing
Southerner (33/1) was sent off at the longest-price of the the thirteen-strong field in the concluding Kerrymaid Novice Handicap Hurdle but came home a length in front of An Marcach (10/1), with Knockraha Boss (12/1) another five and a half lengths away in third place.
The hat-trick seeking 6/4 favourite The Chapel Field made a mistake at the first and came home in sixth place in the end.
Winning amateur-rider William Cronin, whose father and namesake trains and led up the winner, gave his mount a confident ride, closing up travelling well behind the leaders three out and not pressing the button until after the last.
The lightly-raced winner, a rising ten-year-old, was having only an eighth career start and was coming back for a lay-off of over 600 days. He had shown little glimmers of promise when fourth in a Wexford bumper in 2017, and filling the same position behind Causey Arch in a Clonmel maiden hurdle in March 2018.
The Cronins train locally in Doneraile, and it was a profitable weekend for the clan, with the trainer’s sister Sheila Crowley from Mallow (not present at the track) having won the tidy sum of 48,000 Euros on the RTE television show on Saturday evening.
“He needs plenty ease in the ground, said the winning rider William Cronin.
“He had injury problems as a young horse and we had him right last winter but just never got the ground.
"We always thought he had ability, he was fourth in a bumper and his runs in maiden hurdles weren't too bad. He could drop back to two miles as he was hard on himself there and is not short of pace at that level.
"It mightn't have been the strongest race and he'll probably go to Limerick at Christmas next."
Additional reporting by Thomas Weekes
